A U.S. Army officer reportedly arrested at gunpoint and dragged pepper after a traffic stop in Virginia has filed a lawsuit against two police officers alleging a racial profile.
Lieutenant Caron Nazario, a member of the U.S. Army Medical Corps, was carrying his military weapons when he was arrested on December 5 in Windsor for driving his new Chevy Tahoe without license plates.
A temporary paper license plate was engraved on the rear window.
The Bodycam video shows officers pulling out their guns and ordering him to get out of the vehicle.
The incident soon escalated when Nazario, described as black and Latin, refused to comply, saying he was afraid to get out of the vehicle.
“Yes, you should be,” one of the officers replied. Nazario was sprayed with pepper, removed from the SUV and handcuffed while laying the ground.
“This is all the rage,” Nazario can be heard saying in the video. He reportedly also captured the video of the incident with his own cell phone.
Nazario filed a lawsuit against officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker on April 2, alleging that their rights were violated under the First and Fourth Amendments.
“He is a sworn member of the United States Army. He swears support to defend the U.S. Constitution from all foreign and domestic enemies, and the way these officers behaved involves the oath he takes, “said Jonathan Arthur, Nazario’s lawyer, according to Vice.com.
Arthur added that he expects the lawsuit to send a message to police officers “that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.”